IRON MAN 3

ACTION/ADVENTURE/FANTASY

PLOT:  Tony Stark has problems after saving New York in the Avengers.

                The summer movies are final here and it starts out with IM3!!!  Tony (Robert Downey Jr.) has anxiety attacks after New York.  He ignores his girlfriend and CEO of his company Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and all he does is invent things.  He wants revenge when his friend Happy (Jon Favreau) is indirectly hurt by the Mandarin and threatens him with terrible results.  A fellow scientist also wants revenge.  I liked the movie but I can see why many comic book fans do not.  HINT:  Find out the origin of The Mandarin and you too will find out why. Also stay after the credits!!

OBLIVION

SCI-FI/DRAMA

PLOT:  In 2077 Jack (Tom Cruise) is a drone repairman assigned to Earth and finds out everything he was told is not true.

Actor Tom Cruise is getting older and takes more interesting projects that may or not be profitable.  The special effects and the music by M83 are amazing but it is not all about action but has action in it.  If you really like sci-fi and the actor go see this movie on the big screen.  It is a sci-fi fix until Star Trek 2: Into Darkness.

OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN

ACTION/THRILLER

PLOT:  Die Hard in the White House

                Mike Banning (Gerard Butler 300) is a disgraced bodyguard and he is the sole survivor who can save the President Benjamin Asher and his son.  It is got a lot of action and humor and the villain is a Korean terrorist, Kang (Rick Yune).  I am happy that Mr. Butler is doing action again.  He is better as an action star than a romantic lead.   Director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) is a good director especially with action films as well.  Good movie if you like the story.

42

HISTORY/DRAMA

PLOT:  Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player in major league.

                Newcomer Chadwick Boseman is amazing as Jackie Robinson and equally good is Harrison Ford (yes that one who plays Indiana Jones) as Branch Rickey to integrate baseball.  All the actors are good Nichole Behaire (American Violet) as Robinson’s understanding and devoted  wife, Christopher Meloni (Law and Order: Special Victims Unit) as Leo Durocher and Alan Tudyk ( Wash in Firefly) as the racist Ben Chapman.  It is a great movie but you have seen it before but it is very inspiring.

     

           

DEATHRACE 3: INFERNO 2012

ACTION/DRAMA

PLOT:  Frankenstein is still alive and still racing!!

Convicted cop killer Carl Lucas (Luke Goss) who is Frankenstein who is one race away from freedom has to deal with a new boss Niles York (Dougray Scott, Mission Impossible 2) and Death race is now in South Africa for he wants it to go global.  Story is not the strong point but the driving cars and action is!! It is very good and I believe there will be a fourth.   Luke Goss is a very talented actor so I don’t know why he is doing B-movies.  Maybe he likes them.  Action hounds rejoice!!!

THE PACKAGE-2012

ACTION/DRAMA

PLOT:  Enforcer has to deliver something very important to a rival crime lord.

Ex-wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin is Tommy who is married and wants a better life for him and wife.  He also works for the mob so when his boss tells him to take a mysterious  item to another crime boss he must agree but he is attacked by people he didn’t expect.  I like Steve Austin so any movie he is in is good even when it isn’t.  His co-star is Dolph Lundgren.  The fight scene between the two could have lasted much longer.  If you can wait, wait if not buy it.

THE MARINE 3: HOMEFRONT

ACTION/DRAMA

PLOT:  Military man comes home and one of his sisters sees a murder.

Wrestler Mike ‘The Miz’ Mizanin is the latest Marine in the straight-to-video series.  It is a good B-action film.  If you like high body count you will like it.  The Miz doesn’t bring anything new to the genre but it is still a fun ride.

INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN

CRIME DRAMA

The only reason I saw this video because it has my favorite underrated actor Luke Goss.  It is a good movie about a bad assassin and it gives background of why he is cold blooded.  The music is eerie and it does have action but not a lot.  It is well made for a straight-to-video release.  It is like an IFC film with kills so be warned.

IRON MAN:  RISE OF TECHNOVORE

ANIMATED

I love Iron Man regardless if it is animated or live action!!  This movie is about a mysterious young man who develops advance technology out doing Tony Stark and he has to save the world from him.  The best thing beside Iron Man is that they have the Punisher as a guest star by the voice of Norman Reedus (Walking Dead, Darryl Dixon).  How I wish they would do an animated series of Punisher!!  It would be violent but so good!!

 

DEAD MAN DOWN

CRIME DRAMA

PLOT: Man wants revenge that killed his wife and child.

Colin Farrell is Victor who is moody for he wants death to a crime boss who killed his family and he meets Beatrice (Noomi Rapace) a scarred women who wants vengeance of her own.  The trailer is better than the movie.  The acting is good especially Farrell and Rapace and when there is action it is very good.  It is not a typical Hollywood action drama so it didn’t do well at the box office but when it comes out on video it will do better.

THE CALL

SUSPENSE THRILLER

PLOT:  A 911 operator tries to save a young girl’s life.

Halle Berry is a 911 operator and one of the thing they are not suppose to do is get emotional attached to the person in need.  She does as she tries to save a young woman from a killer of young girls.  It is a tense ride until the far-fetch finish but it is very good.  Oscar winner Ms. Berry is believable as the concerned operator.  Abigail Breslin is great as the frightened young woman.  Morris Chestnut is good as Berry’s handsome cop boyfriend and for the wrestler world David Otunga is pretty good as Chestnut’s partner but has very little to do.

GI JOE: RETALIATION

ACTION/ADVENTURE

PLOT: Sequel to GI Joe: Rise of Cobra.

If you didn’t like the first GI Joe you won’t like this one.  It is a popcorn movie, a cartoon made into live action!! Many people and fans are hating on this movie but not me.  I enjoyed in very much.  Maybe because Duke (Channing Tatum) dies and Roadblock (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson) is the new leader.  I found him annoying as a wrestler and a good screen presence as an actor!!  Don’t see it in 3D unless you want to pay more it’s just as good in 2D.  Action hounds rejoice, a summer blockbuster came in March!!

A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD

ACTION

  

PLOT:  John McClane is back but this time he is in Russia.

Bruce Willis returns for the fifth outing of the Die Hard franchise.  Now a senior cop goes to Russia to help his son but nothing is what it seems.  This is the shortest Die Hard movie and not the best it has action and humor to help it along.  The villain not good, a few strange potholes but if you like these kinds of movies you will like this.  It is not doing well in the states but it is raking in the bucks overseas so don’t be surprised if there is a Die Hard 6.

OZ:  THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

FANTASY

PLOT:  Prequel to the Wizard of Oz

I went to see this movie because the critics didn’t like it!! It is better than what they say but nothing is good as the original. Actor James Franco is Oz a magician, con man and loves the ladies.  He wants to be more than what he is and gets his chance when he is transported to the beautiful Land of Oz  The people there believe he is their savior and he acts it only to get the gold.  He flirts with Theodora (Mila Kunis) which is a bad idea and because of his actions she turns to the wicked witch of the West.

Kunis is very good but not as good as Margaret Hamilton in the Wizard of Oz. The other sister Evanora (Rachel Weisz) the wicked witch of the east is okay.  Michelle Williams as the good witch Glinda has more lines and is okay too.  Doubters should not see this movie or wait for cable.  You will want to see the Wizard of Oz again once you do see this movie. 

  

SNITCH

CRIME DRAMA

PLOT: A father goes undercover for the DEA to free his son from prison

This is not an action movie!!  The trailer is very misleading.  Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson plays a hardworking man who is willing to trap a major player of a cartel to save his son from prison. The film is series stuff for it is based on a true story and Johnson is REALLY acting.  It is very intense and very good.  You want to see The Rock in an action wait until GI Joe 2: Retaliation and Fast and Furious 6.

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK--2012

ROMANTIC COMEDY DRAMA

  

PLOT:  Two mentally unstable people fall in love.

Pat (Bradley Cooper, The A Team) is bipolar and is finally getting out of institution.  With the help of his friend he meets recovering sex addict Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence Hunger Games). They fuss, fight like a romantic comedy but this movie is so different it should get an award for originality.  His parents are Robert DeNiro and he is very good and Jacki Weaver.  The big surprise is Chris Tucker (Rush Hour films) is good as Pat’s friend in the institution.  He is not loud but very subtle.  It is good and strange like IFC films so if you can deal with that please watch.

LAST STAND--2013

ACTION

PLOT:  Sheriff has to stop a drug lord from crossing the Mexican border.

Ray Owens (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is back in action and the only reason you should see it because of Arnold and the body count.  It is an expensive B-movie but it is good. The villain is okay but he could have been better.  It didn’t do well in theaters but it will explode on video. Action hounds must go!!!

PARKER--2013

ACTION

PLOT:  Parker is a thief and he has to get revenge on the gang that tried to kill him.

If it is January or February, Jason Statham has a movie.  He really plays the same character all the time-ready to kick a lot of butt.  You know there will be action and he has two pretty women with him and one is Jennifer Lopez.  She plays a down on her luck real estate agent who helps him.  She is very attractive and funny too but she deserves much better and I hope she gets it. The shocking thing about this B-movie is it is directed by Taylor Hackford, the man who directed Ray, the movie about Ray Charles. In spots it is vile and violent –action hounds take a look.

HANSEL AND GRETEL:  WITCH HUNTERS--2013

HORROR/ACTION/FANTASY

PLOT:  Beloved fairy tale has a new twist to it.

You know the story but now after burning one witch they make it a business of killing witches. Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye, Avengers) and Gemma Arterton (Prince of Persia) are Hansel and Gretel.  They don’t speak noble English they speak like in modern times and it is very funny.  Famke Janssen is Muriel queen of the evil witches, and is very good at being very bad.  It should have been on video, but it is good enough for theatres if you like that sort of film.